Definitions

Ma'at (pronounced may-et) is the ancient Egyptian goddess of truth, justice, harmony, and balance (a concept known as ma'at in Egyptian) who first appears during the period known as the Old Kingdom (c. 2613 - 2181 BCE) but no doubt existed...

The Bone Rank System (Golpum or Kolpum) of ancient Korea was used in the Silla kingdom (57 BCE – 935 CE) in order to signal a person's political rank and social status. Membership of a particular rank within the system was extremely important...

Neith (aka Net, Neit or Nit) and is one of the oldest deities of ancient Egypt who was worshipped early in the Pre-Dynastic Period (c. 6000 - 3150 BCE) and whose veneration continued through the Ptolemaic Dynasty (323 - 30 BCE), the last...

The architecture of ancient Korea is epitomised by the artful combination of wood and stone to create elegant and spacious multi-roomed structures characterised by clay tile roofing, enclosures within protective walls, interior courtyards...

Herod I, or Herod the Great (c. 75 – 4 BCE), was the king of Judea who ruled as a client of Rome. He has gained lasting infamy as the 'slaughterer of the innocents' as recounted in the New Testament's book of Mathew. Herod was, though, a...

Epicurus (341 BCE – 270 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher, the founder of the Epicurean school in Athens, who taught that "Pleasure is the principle and end to a happy life." He was a prolific writer, amassing 37 volumes, but unfortunately...

Lascaux Cave is a Palaeolithic cave situated in southwestern France, near the village of Montignac in the Dordogne region, which houses some of the most famous examples of prehistoric cave paintings. Close to 600 paintings – mostly of animals...

The Romans assimilated earlier Greek science for their own purposes, evaluating and then accepting or rejecting that which was most useful, much as they did in other fields such as warfare, art, and theatre. This assimilation of Greek thought...

In the Vedas, the apsaras are water nymphs, often married to the gandharvas. By the time the Puranas and the two epics were composed, the apsaras and gandharvas had become performing artists to the gods; the apsaras are singers, dancers...

Saguntum (modern Sagunto), located near Valencia in Spain, was an Iberian, and then Roman, settlement. The town's most dramatic moment in history came in the late 3rd century BCE when it was attacked by Hannibal, an act which famously sparked...